Pet Peeves

[the_yellow_dart]

After a particularly aggravating commute, I decided to post this list of the things that annoy me. These things may not seem like "bad driving", but they reduce the efficiency of our roads, and waste everyone's time. Feel free to post your own pet peeves as well.

This list is expressway-specific.

1. People who don't get over to the right.

You are supposed to drive in the right most lane unless passing. When the highway is packed, and you are constantly passing, go ahead and drive in the left lane. Expressways would flow so much better if everyone just moved over. Then I wouldn't have to guess what the guy in the middle lane is going to do when he encounters the slower guy in the middle lane in front of him.

2. People who don't pay attention to their surroundings.

I don't think that going 170 km/h on the highway is a good idea, but I'm still going to get out of the way of anyone doing so, for the safety of everyone on the highway. Pulling out into the left lane because you're doing 110, passing someone going 100, is not a good idea when the guy trying to do 170 in the left lane is about to slam into your car because you didn't look.

3. The greed of the Ontario government. (407)

This may not make much sense to anyone not from Ontario, but here goes - we had an expressway set up to go around all the congestion of the western Greater Toronto Area and meeting up with the 401 in Mississauga. The right of way was reserved for years. It was to be the extension of the 403. At the same time, a right of way was reserved for the 407 toll highway, starting at the Ford plant in Oakville and going North, eventually continuing around the eastern GTA. Instead of building the sorely needed bypass of Burlington, Oakville, and southern Mississauga, they sold the land to the 407. So now we have a toll highway there which is sorely underused at non-peak hours, and still has traffic jams at peak hours. They also have some of the most idiotic management known to man. I refuse to use this highway ever again after the way they treated me, and I hate them for the way they've destroyed Ontario's road network. I seriously considered putting a brick through the management office window after our little encounter. If I wasn't an engineer who can't afford to have a criminal record I probably would have.

4. People who don't use cruise on the freeway, and can't maintain a constant speed with their foot.

I hate pulling out to pass someone, just to have them match my speed. Now I look like the moron. Thanks. I also hate being in the right lane, with someone slow coming up, and having someone pull out to pass me, to match my speed and box me in. If everyone maintains their speed, things are much more predictable and everyone can pass nicely. I don't care what speed you go (within reason), just PICK ONE.

5. People who accelerate and brake on the highway instead of the ramps.

Yeah. Let's merge onto the 100 km/h limit highway at 60 km/h with a string of people behind you. That's not going to cause chaos at all. Idiots. Braking before getting off the highway and onto the ramp lane is not as bad, but still stupid.

6. Trucks who pull out to pass each other with a 2 km/h speed differential.

Thanks for taking up 2 lanes with your giant trucks.

7. People who don't signal lane changes.

I don't know if they just forget, or they figure people don't look...

I think that's it for now. Thanks for listening. Let's hear some of yours...

[mute]

women . . . asians . . . black people . . . old people

all of them are dangerous when behind a wheel . . . hah just kidding

my biggest pet peeve is cops . . . they dip dive duck dodge and dip all they want through traffic without thought to consideration while anyone who passes too close gets a stern ticketing . . . cops are annoying

[GMTruckGuy74]

#4 happened to me on Monday as I was driving to Atlantic City for a conference. I'm on Route 206 South on the two-lane portion behind a woman in a newer BMW. She's moving, but not as fast as I'd like her to and the car in front of her is at least 10 car-lengths away. When the roadway opens to a four-lane passing area, I signal and move to the left to pass. Now it becomes apparent that I'm not to be in front of her! She not only starts to go faster than me, she floors it! When the roadway goes back to two-lanes, I'm stuck behind her and she goes back to the same slow speed as before. I can't understand when people who drive under or right at the speed limit hate when others want to pass them (legally). Who deemed them god/godess of the road???

Moving on... another one my biggest pet peeves is similar to your #1 (people in the left lane that don't belong there) - but goes a little bit further. When I commuted to New Brunswick for two years I had to drive Route 130 North. This highway has left turn lanes. I'd get behind someone going slow for 5-10 miles just because they were eventually going to use the left turn lane. Like they couldn't have stayed to the right and moved over when their exit got closer?

#6 seems to happen to me all the time when I drive on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In NJ, trucks & buses are not allowed in the left lanes (usually on 3-lane highways). But most of the PA Turnpike is 2-lanes. I hate when a truck wants to pass another truck, going uphill, so now everyone is on their brakes just because some idiot truck driver wants to get around another idiot truck driver.

Edited August 11, 2006 by GMTruckGuy74

[CARBIZ]

I wrote to Mayor Miller recently. To his credit, his henchman did reply and rebutted me, point by point; however, there were no surprises.

When I pointed out that (by the Star's own numbers) 76% of the people in the GTA DRIVE to work, while 16% TTC it and 6% bicycle/walk - why would the city spend $1billion on a subway to nowhere (Sheppard) that nobody uses (50% capacity), yet won't even consider spending $10 million just to STUDY the possiblity of widening the DVP because "too many people will use it."

WTF? What kind of logic is that? The DVP was built in 1957 when Toronto was maybe 1 1/2 million. Now, the GTA is 5 million and the only way to get anywhere in the entire eastern half of the city is the DVP - which is 3 f'ing lanes in each direction!

Madness. But the Commies that run city hall (into the ground) hate everything automobile and would rather build bicycle lanes (what? is this Amerstam?) that nobody uses for 9 months of the year while slowly strangling the lifeblood of the city by not building ANY new roads/highways in decades.

When the DVP is stopped dead on Xmas day, you know there is a problem that reaches way beyond commuters during rush hour.

There, my rant for the day.

[the_yellow_dart]

I wrote to Mayor Miller recently.  To his credit, his henchman did reply and rebutted me, point by point; however, there were no surprises.

  When I pointed out that (by the Star's own numbers) 76% of the people in the GTA DRIVE to work, while 16% TTC it and 6% bicycle/walk - why would the city spend $1billion on a subway to nowhere (Sheppard) that nobody uses (50% capacity), yet won't even consider spending $10 million just to STUDY the possiblity of widening the DVP because "too many people will use it."

  WTF?  What kind of logic is that?  The DVP was built in 1957 when Toronto was maybe 1 1/2 million.  Now, the GTA is 5 million and the only way to get anywhere in the entire eastern half of the city is the DVP - which is 3 f'ing lanes in each direction!

  Madness.  But the Commies that run city hall (into the ground) hate everything automobile and would rather build bicycle lanes (what? is this Amerstam?) that nobody uses for 9 months of the year while slowly strangling the lifeblood of the city by not building ANY new roads/highways in decades.

  When the DVP is stopped dead on Xmas day, you know there is a problem that reaches way beyond commuters during rush hour.

  There, my rant for the day.

178927[/snapback]

I'm not sure that widening the DVP is the answer. The Don Valley has been raped badly enough already.

It would be better, IMO, to separate the traffic better. Make Bayview a more attractive alternative by weeding out unnecessary accesses. It's already a pretty good way to get to the 401 without using the DVP. Also, BUILD the SCARBOROUGH EXPRESSWAY, for @#$&s sake... The Gardiner was supposed to continue past the south end of the DVP, connecting to 2A at the other side of Scarborough. They had the Gardiner extending past the DVP already, and it ended about 1km later, nearl Leslie street. They knocked the end down! The pillars for the raised highway still stand to this day. It was already built, WHY KNOCK IT DOWN??? The right of way for the Scarborough expressway still exists too - it would save a lot of people from having to drive up the DVP to get to the 401 - they would just take the SE instead. Take a look at my morning commute, and imagine how much it would help.

map

[CARBIZ]

Maybe we should carpool! LOL

Bayview is a mess because of Bayview Village - too many shops. They would protest anything happening to their precious parking out front. I actually drive through the million dollar homes of Rosedale when I know the DVP is a mess.

The real trouble with the city is that the idiots in charge back in the '20s and '30s had no foresight. As older buildings were being knocked down along Danforth/Bloor, Yonge St., etc. the city should have allowed for 6 lanes of traffic. Just think about how much smoother things would go if Kingston Rd., Bloor-Danforth, Yonge St., Bayview, Bathurst, etc. were 6 lanes instead of 4!!!!

Instead, you have 4 lanes, with two perpetually blocked by delivery vans, taxis, parked cars etc.

Vancouver, for example, works much better. All of their "suburban" streets, like Kingsway, Hastings, Renfrew, etc. are 6 lanes. Yet Vancouver has the reputation as being controlled by the eco-freaks! They have no highways but they do have a well-laid out city street plan.

I just shake my head as I see more and more 50 storey condos going up, situated on narrow, one way streets emptying onto 4 lane thoroughfares plugged by delivery vans.

This city is heading for a crisis and we will make Hong Kong's traffic look like a village stroll, mark my words.

[the_yellow_dart]

Maybe we should carpool!  LOL

  Bayview is a mess because of Bayview Village - too many shops.  They would protest anything happening to their precious parking out front.  I actually drive through the million dollar homes of Rosedale when I know the DVP is a mess.

  The real trouble with the city is that the idiots in charge back in the '20s and '30s had no foresight.  As older buildings were being knocked down along Danforth/Bloor, Yonge St., etc. the city should have allowed for 6 lanes of traffic.  Just think about how much smoother things would go if Kingston Rd., Bloor-Danforth, Yonge St., Bayview, Bathurst, etc. were 6 lanes instead of 4!!!!

  Instead, you have 4 lanes, with two perpetually blocked by delivery vans, taxis, parked cars etc.

  Vancouver, for example, works much better.  All of their "suburban" streets, like Kingsway, Hastings, Renfrew, etc. are 6 lanes. Yet Vancouver has the reputation as being controlled by the eco-freaks!  They have no highways but they do have a well-laid out city street plan.

  I just shake my head as I see more and more 50 storey condos going up, situated on narrow, one way streets emptying onto 4 lane thoroughfares plugged by delivery vans.

  This city is heading for a crisis and we will make Hong Kong's traffic  look like a village stroll, mark my words.

178932[/snapback]

Take a look at the proposed plan for Toronto.

article - expressways of toronto, built and unbuilt

[DetroitNut90]

I hate ricers-I hate them with a passion. They drive at severly extra-legal speeds (e.g. 110 through a 55), weave in and out of traffic, don't signal, don't really look, and they sound awful to boot. I mean, it's bad enough that we have completely stupid people on the road, but they're stupid at (mostly) legal speeds. Ricers are stupid at really high speeds. I really hate it when they get behind you on a 2-lane road, and you're behind an already slow-moving car, and then they start revving their motors up at you. But it's always fun to show them how their buzzy and torqueless I4 is no match for your small block-based V6

[zhawk]

1. Left Lane Vigilantees - you know those people who drive slow in the left lane. They think they are keeping you from getting a ticket or something.

2. People who cannot stand to be passed - You move over to pass and they hit the gas. Then match your speed or they drive away fast for a bit then slow down. Which leads me to three.

3. People who pass you only to slow down to below what you are driving.

4. People who can't stay in one lane. - pick a lane. ANY lane!

5. People not paying attention to their surroundings. - Now, most of us have had a blonde moment but come on, some people never watch out for others.

6. Cars with WAY too much bass. When the gas cap opens, and your body panels are about to fall off, it may be a bit overboard. If it is louder next to your car than the C-17 engine run I just finished at work. You may be experiencing metal fatigue in that car as well.

[76ChevyTrucker]

Let see, I hate ricers. They don't know how to drive, other than what F&TF taught them.

Left Lane Vigilantes: Can't we all just stop them, drag them out of their car, and shoot them?

Then there's the doofus-es that are running around in their 1987 Chevrolet Caprice Classic covered in faded grey primer with 2-grand in stereo equipment, another 3-grand in wheels/tires, with a engine that reminds me much of a skeeter sprayer, and they think their the best thing since sliced bread. Get a life, make the car run efficiently for what it is, THEN make it look pretty.

And finally: big wheels and tires. 20" wheels and tires are fine, if they are in proportion with the vehicle in which they are being run on. But if we're putting 28" of wheel and tire under a vehicle that was designed to run about an 18" wheel and tire, that just looks stupid. A car isn't supposed to have 3-FEET of ground clearance. Damn stump jumpers.